Every great game and hero needs an equally great villain. Without a villain for the player to truly hate, the experience of finally finishing the game and vanquishing the games final foe does not have the same impact that it should. There are several great villains in video games, ones that sometimes make a mediocre game resonate with the player more than the game itself. And then there are villains that easily steal the show. Villains that sometimes make you want to jump ship and join their team for world domination. Below, in no particular order are my favorite video game villains!
5 - Gannon (Legend of Zelda) Look he stole the Tri-Force and the Princess. For many, myself included Zelda was our first Action/RPG and Gannon has stood the test of time. While I haven't played a Zelda game in years, I still hold a soft spot for Gannon.
4 - Bowser (Super Mario Bros.) Like Gannon before him Bowser was a villain from my childhood that I always enjoyed defeating. You just know he got a raw deal and easily would have trounced that terrorist plumber if the creators didn't have it in for him.
3 - Handsome Jack (Borderlands 2) Blending RPG elements and Diablo loot crazy with a unique art style Borderlands set itself apart from the military shooters which rule the marketplace. With Borderlands 2 Gearbox introduced us to Handsome Jack. His humor, wit, and careless need for destruction was a welcome change to the ever serious villains which liter shooters.
2 - Sephiroth (Final Fantasy 7) Ask any gamer to name a villain and this is most likely to be the first name they speak. For many Sephiroth was the first "adult" villain to grace our video games. We saw him burn towns to the ground, release great titans of destruction and murder an innocent flower girl, all while giving the hint that he was holding back much more devious actions. And can we talk about his song. Still the best villain song ever.
1 - Kefka (Final Fantasy 3) Ok before you yell at me that Kefka was from FF6, just stop. I first played the SNES version when it was 3, so to me it will always be 3. Now with that being said, Kefka is easily my favorite video game villain of all time. Many villains have a master plan of ruling the world, or gathering endless riches, but with Kefka he just wanted to destroy. So much so that he actually succeeded in his plan....mostly. As a villain Kefka enjoyed all the pain and destruction he caused and played with the heroes in ways that really hadn't been seen on home consoles.
So there you have. Bat's favorite video game villains of all time. What are some of your favorite? Leave your answer in the comments below!